All you need to know about "Meta verse"... the exciting and unknown future of the Internet
Facebook recently announced changing its name to "Meta", and it turned out later that the new name chosen by the social networking giant was inspired by the term "Meta verse", which experts consider to be an expression of the future of social networking sites, or rather the future of the Internet in general.
Below we review everything you need to know about "Meta verse" and how it will transform the world of the Internet, and whether there are fears of billions of people entering this new world.
What does the term meta verse mean and its beginnings?
The term meta verse first appeared in the science fiction novel Snow Crash, written by writer Neil Stephenson in 1992, and its events revolve around the interaction of humans, through a virtual likeness (avatar), and these interactions and interactions embrace a three-dimensional virtual space supported by augmented reality technologies, in a similar way to Pretty much the real world, Newsweek reported.
Some novels and science fiction films later dealt with other terms and concepts similar to the worlds of virtual reality, until Facebook, with its new name in 2021, brought to mind this old dream, but today, with the tremendous progress in this field, it is within the reach of Internet users.
What is meta verse technology?
Meta verse
is defined as a series of virtual worlds that includes endless interactions between users through each user's avatar, which may not be limited to gaming and entertainment only, but this technology will also allow many interactions for business.
Meta verse aims to take virtual reality technologies to unprecedented levels, and although Mark is the one who recently announced the entry into this new world, Meta or Facebook previously will not be able alone to take care of all the developments required in this field, as it Not only is there a wide scope for development, but it is also unpredictable at its limits, which will require the participation of all companies operating in this industry, which Zucker berg himself confirmed, in a speech directed to users.
Indeed, many companies, such as Apple, Google and Microsoft, have tried to develop their activity in the field of the virtual world, but Facebook took the lead in declaring this interest to the public and even choosing for itself a new name derived from this term, which reflects the main direction of the company during the coming years, according to the “gadgets” website. ".
To bring the idea of "Meta verse" to mind,
Zucker berg said that it is like turning the Internet into a three-dimensional environment, not only for the user to look at it in front of his screen, but to enter this environment by himself until he becomes one of its elements, and his senses are separated from his real world during his stay in the virtual world.
The user enters this world to find himself within a series of interconnected and endless virtual communities, through which he can meet a large number of people who can be dealt with either to work or play, all he needs for that are virtual reality headsets, augmented reality glasses, and related smart phone applications. .
Taking advantage of Meta verse will not be limited to playing games or even holding business meetings by default, but all the activities of the Internet user will be affected in this world, for example, e-shopping will witness a qualitative leap within this world, where the user will be able to preview anything he wants to buy on the Internet. Close up rather than just preview images in the traditional look now known to online stores, Victoria Petrok, an expert on tech startups, told npr.
With the development of meta verse worlds, every human activity in real reality will become available in all its details in the virtual world, which means that a person may be able to stay in the virtual world for longer periods, either relaxing in his virtual home or playing a game or sports with friends from different countries. around the world, hold virtual meetings, or shop for groceries on the other side of the planet.
How to enter the worlds of meta verse
Facebook (currently dead) has launched an application for virtual meetings for companies, called Horizon Workrooms, that its users need for virtual reality glasses Oculus VR, and so far these glasses have not received full satisfaction from users, as well as their high price of $ 300 or more, which makes most experiences Sophisticated meta verses are out of reach of many, especially in developing countries.
As for those who can afford to buy virtual reality glasses, they will only need to choose the virtual likeness of “Avatar”, to become his representative in this new world, and then he can move between those virtual worlds created by different companies. “The Meta verse experience will be about the incredible ability to teleport from one world to another,” Zucker berg says.
A large part of the expected success of Meta verse worlds depends on the ability of technology companies to cooperate with each other to link their online platforms to each other in this unified entity, and Petroc sees that the cooperation of these companies requires that they agree among themselves on a set of unified standards, which means that there will be no Facebook Meta verse users and not Microsoft Meta verse users, only Meta verse users as a unified entity.
Risks and Fears of Meta verse
Over the years, Facebook has faced accusations of privacy breaches, leaking user data, and exploiting it to make profits.
The basic idea of Meta verse
is to liberate and mix cultures through an easy and fast interaction between the inhabitants of different continents, which means greater ease for ordinary users to view more data for other users. Virtual, which simulates reality, is available to everyone.
It can be imagined how a user can easily reveal his interests to those around him, between artistic, sports or shopping interests, as well as his personal interactions and perhaps his daily decisions, starting from choosing a specific playlist of songs and even making decisions about making a family.
“It's true that we want to navigate the Internet easily, but we also want it to happen in a way that can't be tracked and monitored," says entrepreneur Steve Jang, managing partner at startup Kindred Ventures.
From the above, we can sense the concern about the intentions of the Facebook founder behind his enthusiasm to enter the world of Meta verse, especially since the accusations against him of using personal data to sell targeted ads through Facebook still exist.
"Ads will continue to be an important part of the social media strategy for what we do, and potentially a useful part of Meta verse as well," Zucker berg said on a recent earnings call.
Petroc expressed concern about Facebook's attempt to carve a path to a virtual world that may require more personal data and allow greater potential for misuse and misinformation, given that the company does not seek to fix these problems on its current platform.
What remains to be revealed in the coming days is what awaits the world of technology, when Meta verse becomes accessible to everyone, overcoming the obstacles to its spread. .